Memory Setup Guide

[rpweidner]

Just ordered Maximus IV Extreme Z (Z68 chipset) and Gskill F3-17000CL9D-8GBXLD ram. I am looking for a setup guide for this memory. I spent a lot of time looking at the Gskill web site and searching this forum for such a guide but it was a frustating experience, Gskill lets me search but the search list doesnt include this part number?

Probably something simple I am overlooking but could someone help me understand where to find setup guides for this memory.

Also ordered i7-2600k and am putting a good air cooler on it so I can overclock the system and of course want to get the best out of the memory by using the recommended settings.

While I am at it any comments on my choice of memory would be appreciated? It seemed like a good choice of performance vs price.

GTX 580
AX1200 PSU
OCZ Vertex 3 120g

Roy

[Tradesman]

Basically, you'll want the latest BIOS, enable XMP and set it to 2133

[rpweidner]

So there is not a setup guide or profile just use XMP and it will set all the timings and voltages for the best performance? Or can I get better performace if I knew how to set the memory up manually? (Or better stability?)

Thanks

Roy

[Tradesman]

XMP should set things up for proper performance, you can always then take the settings it loads and try to fine tune for better performance or OC them etc. There is no set parameters for the best, even if you take 3 identical mobos, cpus, etc...you might end up with three different sets of settings for best performance

[rpweidner]

Thanks

Thanks this helps a lot. Its good to get tech support that actually helps with a problem.

Roy

[Tradesman]

No problem, I spend time out here to keep up with all the hardware and combinations for builds and upgrading.....there's alot out there!

[buggyruth]

I have the same memory,
gskill F3-17000CL9D-8GBXLD
Motherboard is EVGA 67 FTW , I flashed to 1.20 Bios (newest)
CPU is I7-2600K

I set the timing manually 2133 & 9-11-9-28-2 I set the voltage manually to 1.65, XMP settings will not work for me.
When I go into E-leet tuning it shows
dram frequency 1064.4
Dram Voltage 1.50000

I would be grateful for any help!

[Tradesman]

You are spot on.....while it shows DRAM freq as 1064.4, you have to remember it's DDR (Double Data Rate) so you take 1064.4 x 2 and end up with your rate of 2128.8.....there may be a small glitch in the software or even the BIOS as to why it won't show 2133.....could also download and run CPU-Z and then take a look at the Memory Tab in it...might show slightly higher or lower....if it shows same 1064.4 then it's prob a quirk in the BIOS that won't set to a true 2133

[buggyruth]

Thanks for your help!
Can I overclock the memory or not recommended?

[Tradesman]

If you have time always can experiment with it, can try raising the freq gradually and can experiment with the timings, would suggest running a memory benchmark of some kind first to set a baseline....also, performance wise, you can often get more from the sticks by lowering the CL by one and then seeing the highest freq/speed you can get with the lower CL i.e. your at 9-11-9-28 now, could try at 8-9-8-27 or so at 2000.....or could even try changing the CR to 1T which would be a boost....or go to 2200 with stock timings and maybe adding .02 to current DRAM voltage..........there's a number of ways to get the most out of your sticks, often it's finding the time to do the testing

[GSKILL TECH]

Of course you can But you may need to start raising VCCIO and VCCSA Voltage as you go beyond DDR3-2200. First, you should test to see what the memory can do with the current voltages. Find the max values, then you can tweak from there.

You can also try lower frequency and lower timings to test the results.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

Thanks for your help!
Can I overclock the memory or not recommended?

[buggyruth]

Looking for memory testing / tweeking programs

What programs do you recommend or suggest? To test to see what the memory can do with the current voltages. Find the max values, then you can tweak from there.

[Tradesman]

As you experiment you can generally play some games to a degree to test stability, or use something like Prime95 to stress the DRAM at the different settings you use, I've found many people prefer playing a game, then if it crashes maybe start Prime, if it crashes with that, then adjust voltages and/or timings